7

I couldn't have made it through today without her. She just always knows the right things to say or do to make it all alright. Guess that's why I'm marrying her, huh?

Loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong day. I'm not going to turn this into a blog where I'm bitching about work left and right though, so I'll just leave it at that.

Early AM, knocked out "Below the belt." That makes 8 workouts in 7 days. Gonna try for two tomorrow to make it an even ten in eight days, but we will see how the day goes. The kids go back to their mother tomorrow, so that will make early morning workouts easier, but I'll sure miss them. Get em back in a few days though.

I can feel my body changing ever so slightly.  My pants today were looser, my vest (I usually wear 3-peice suits) had to be tightened just a little bit.  It's all starting to come together one week in. I can only imagine two week, three, a month and so on.  It's all for that one day.  For her. For me. For us.

Still killing it on the nutrition side.  Didn't get to stick with my routine I've developed over the last week (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner) actually only ate three times today, but I made up for it with a big hunk of meat for dinner.  It may or may not have been the ideal dinner, but I know it wasn't bad for me and it sure tasted darn good. I got home really late and Jodi was exhausted from her day (even though her amazing self STILL offered to make something for me) I just decided to simplify it and make something I've been craving and something pretty darn amazing.

One week in I've forgotten that this is a challenge and now its all about changing my life.  It's working.  It's worth it.

Day 7

This is what you eat when you work a 12 hour day and don't hardly get to eat. Real blog later. 

One, two, three, four, five AAAAAAAAND 6!

Six days. Six days in a row of doing what I needed to do. Six days in a row of doing the right things, good things for me, for my family, for my health.

I don't work a lot of Sundays, but today was the exception (first in over two months.) That in itself was already a challenge. Working Sundays sucks. No other way to describe it. I work for a very large retail men's clothing company (here's a hint, until recently, our commercials ended with "I guarantee it") and Sundays are just a day where if something bad is going to happen, it does. So, I knew that it was going to be a challenging day before I even got there. Reality, it wasn't so bad. But my mindset prior to going in put me in a semi-foul mood before it even started.

I got up this morning to do my workout and right as I was about to hit play "Cranky 1" and "Cranky 2" (our new nicknames for our daughters) decided it was just the right time to come ask me for breakfast. Well, of course when the little girls ask, usually daddy says yes. So I got them all set and told them the living room was off-limits until I told them otherwise and I was on the floor in Pinfall ready to get to work..... then here comes "Space Cadet" (not really her nickname, I just made that one up....out of love, of course) our 10 year old daughter who was ready for breakfast too!! AAAAAArgh. Fine, no matter how old they get, the daddy/daughter rules apply. So I got her all settled and finally got to do my workout.

Guess what, the day went great from there.  Work could have been a whole lot worse and when I got home the amazing healthy chef (aka Jodi, my amazing beautiful fiance) had an idea for an insanely delicious meal that came perfectly together and she, once again, raised the bar on this "healthy eating" gimmick.

I've completely decided that I'm not stepping on a scale until 8/15, and then not again until 8/30, then the 15th and 30th of each month, so on and so forth. I haven't stepped on the scale since day 3 and I know that doing so will possibly frustrate me a little bit, because I'm the kind of person that wants results right then and there.....RIGHT NOW.  I know that to do it right, it ain't gonna work that way this time, but it will all be worth it.  The scale (and pictures) is there to help motivate me and show me the work done, but if I use it incorrectly, it could hinder and frustrate me. It's just another think, like DDPYoga and healthier eating, that I've got to stick to, not just think a little hard work will go a long way....NOPE...a LOT of hard work will go a long way.  363 more days of it....for starters.

5 down, 359 to go.

Of the five days, this one has been the toughest from a nutrition standpoint. It's after 10 pm and I'm still sitting here having cravings I haven't had in the last five days. Look, I know it's only five days so this may seem silly, but you've got to start somewhere and this has been the first day I've really struggled when it comes to food. I haven't given in, I won't give in, but it's there.

This morning I knew I was gonna have a long day. It didn't stop me. I woke up and I knocked out my workout. Had my breakfast and went to work. I felt sorry for Jodi, she was left home with all four kids, two of which are kinda sick.  She made it through it though and once again had an awesome dinner waiting, substituting cauliflower in place of pasta with chicken.  It was freakin amazing and for the second consecutive night, she has made vegetables take the place of something and made it, in my opinion, even better.

This week, I'm going to post of video of me doing one of the workouts, haven't decided which one yet, but I'm hoping that will get my over my fear of having people watch me do DDPYoga. My kids have been shooed out of the room when trying to get a peek at "daddy working out."  I'm not sure why I'm that way about it, but I am. Hope I can change that, maybe even have them join in.

359 days left to go...with her by my side, it's gonna be no problem!!

BANG.

Day 4

5 workouts....4 days. Not a single lapse on the nutrition side. I'm feelin' pretty darn good.

I guess what they say is always right, it's all about what motivates you. Like I said, I started this journey once before, back in February. Everything was going smoothly, just like it is now. I was doing the workouts daily (skipping one day a week, which I don't plan on doing this time) and following a nutrition plan, eliminating soda, sweets (as in chocolate, candy etc) and focusing on portions. I was going pretty strong for three weeks and then fell off due to a surgery.

Not only do I not plan on falling off this time, I WON'T fall off this time. I can break both legs and I'll just ask Dally on twitter if he can suggest a super modified position for broken table, haha.

Yesterday, I had what, in the past, may have thrown me off track. Due to all the fresh vegetables I'm consuming (mostly spinach) my system is in a minor adjustment period, and by minor adjustment period I mean I spent two hours sitting in the bathroom yesterday. (TMI, I'm sure.) It lasted through most of the night until I finally got comfortable and was able to sleep. I woke up this morning unsure, but I put in the DVD and went to work. And you know what? I owned that M*****F*****.  Had my breakfast and went to work, feeling great all day. What could have been an obstacle in the past was something I just pushed past and did what I had to do.

While the purpose of this journey is to look damn good for my bride on our wedding day (which is now officially 360 days away) it's funny how this whole thing all works.  My biggest motivation is also my biggest support. She has adjusted our menus at home to things to keep me from falling "off the wagon." Tonight's dinner was an amazing combination of squash and zucchini, cooked up like a Waffle House hash brown (without all the "bad for you stuff) and grilled chicken.

While that may not sound like that big of a deal to you, keep in mind, between the two of us, we have four kids. A 12 year old, 10 year old, 5 year old and a 4 year old.  So while we are keeping their menus the same (we never have eaten poorly as a household, she's just making changes to keep my calorie counts where I want them) for the kids, she's essentially having to make two dinners or at a minimum, making two different versions of the same.  That's pretty awesome if you ask me.  Then again, she is awesome, and that awesomeness is why I'm doing what I'm doing. Trust me, she's worth it.

This weekend will be a little challenging as we have all four kids all weekend and I work two 10 hour shifts, on both days, but I will find a way to do my workouts and own 'em. It's not an option.

Day 3

Even with today's hectic day, got my workout in (4th in 3 days.) I'm ready to start seeing some results...I know, I know, keep working the program and they'll come. I'm not impatient, I just want this to do what it's supposed to. I don't expect anything after 3 days, hell, I don't expect much after 7 or even 15. It's day 364 and beyond that this is all about. 

The day my bride walks that aisle and sees what all this work and dedication and lifestyle change has done, that's the real result I'm looking for. 361 days to go. 

Late night, Day 2